RYLIE

THE LAKE IN town was yet another location I enjoyed hanging out at whenever I wanted peace and quiet. The soothing sound of the leaves on trees swaying and the rush of the lake was my solace. It was occasional for me to come by the lake and stay there, since I didn't want to bump into people—if people came by this lake anyway. I stand corrected.

When I reached the dock a minute ago, Elias was the first thing I saw, his hands rubbing his temples. I didn't expect him to come by the lake, that's for sure. Everything has been quiet since I arrived here, but that's fine. I didn't come here to chat. I came here to relax a bit before I head home. Elias, however, had an opened sketchpad in his hands, along with a pencil. From my view, there wasn't a single pencil mark in sight. Maybe I wasn't seeing things well because I was distanced from him, but I didn't bother to lean in closer. It wasn't my business, anyway.

He reached for his phone, which was stuffed into his back pocket, connected to his tangled earbuds. I grimaced at all the knots I saw in them. They looked just as tangled as mine, but probably not in a worse case. Seriously, earbuds should be made in a way where the wires won't tangle that much. There's already a solution—wireless earbuds—but I feel like they'd get lost much easier.

The mumble of swear words disrupted my thoughts. My head shot up to Elias, who was gliding his pencil across his paper, gawking at his paper.

"W-What are you doing?" I couldn't help but question from curiosity, my eyes widened.

"I'm thinking of something to paint for an art contest, Crews City Visual Arts," he replied, his eyes fixated on his sketch pad before he turned to me. "But I still can't figure it out."

"What does your painting have to be about?" I questioned.

"Well, I know that it has to reflect the world, and I get that, but the judges are looking for something that reflects off the world emotionally. I just don't know what to do," he answered, his fingers brushing against the aged mahogany wood of the dock.

I placed a finger at the tip of my chin. It'll be a piece of cake to think of an idea, considering what I experience every day. What I feel outside is different from what I feel outside, mainly because I hide it from others. My internal emotions don't match my outer emotions, and it's never been okay. It'll never be.

"What if you paint a person . . . A person who feels different from how they feel outside than how they feel on the inside. They can feel cheerful on the outside, but different internally. That's your choice, though," I suggested out of the blue.

Elias' finger brushed against his chin, his eyes lit up, like the sunrise in a clear sky. "Wow . . . you're such a genius. I totally didn't even think of that. Thank you so much, Rylie!" He gleamed. "That's your name, right?"

"Yeah, it is," I chuckled. "And what can I say except you're welcome?"

A roar of laughter escaped his mouth, his hands gripping against the edges of his sketchpad. "I'm going to find a way to thank you a lot more than this. This contest means a lot to me," his eyes twinkled, like a glimmering star.

"Just saying thank you was enough. There's no need to go beyond that," I insisted, startled from the vibration of my phone.

I rummaged it out of the back pocket of my jeans and powered it on. The first thing that popped up was a text message from Nora. I tapped it, only to reveal the full message.

Nora, 4:16 PM:
Ry, where are you? I thought that we were gonna meet at your house today but you aren't here.

Me, 4:17 PM:
Oh right. I forgot all about that. I'll be home in about ten minutes. Hang on.

Nora, 4:17 PM:
Sounds like a plan. See you in ten!

"I gotta go. See you later," I rose up from the dock, the wood of it creaking like an old door.

"Bye," he turned to me for a second before staring back at his sketch pad.

As soon as my foot stepped on the lush, juniper green grass, I picked up my feet and ran as if I was on fire. It would take me a good five minutes to get home at this rate. I completely forgot that Nora and I were supposed to hang out after school today. Maybe because it was a last-minute plan. That's probably why it just bounced off of my brain.

By the time I reached the exit that led to the lake, which was basically a dirt path with pine leaves, twigs, grass bristles, and miniature rocks scattered all over it. It wasn't anything special, but it led to somewhere where I could hang out in peace. I first discovered this place when my mother and father divorced. Whenever I wasn't isolated in my room—which was rare—I came to this place. At first, I thought that it was the woods. But once I got deeper into the land, it wasn't. It was a lake and a large area of grass and trees.

It was quite impressive. It was probably the only highlight of my life at the time of the divorce, and that meant something. Just thinking about the divorce made me shake my head in disbelief. I pinched my arm so I wouldn't get side-tracked. I was about to cross the road, after all. If I crashed into a car, that would be a problem—a severe one. Mom would be upset if I got hurt—which would definitely happen. The thoughts of my mother being upset disturbed me to the point where I was biting my nails, sweat beading down my forehead.

I could never bear seeing my mother hurt. That will only hurt me more than I already am. A broken heart doesn't need to be broken all over again. The continuous honk of a car horn disrupted my thoughts, causing me to snap back into focus. Looks like I got side-tracked again. Fortunately, my house was already in view. I was right in front of it, too. Nora's Corolla was parked on the driveway. Once I reached the driver's seat, I didn't see her there. She must be inside. It looks like Mom is home, too.

I rummaged my house key from my side pocket, lint stuffed on the sides of it. I brushed it off with my thumb and twisted it through the door knob. The door flung open, allowing me to walk in. I slipped my shoes off and placed them in front of the door, my socks gliding against the caramel, hardwood floor as I sauntered through the foyer and the living room. Nora was seated at the kitchen table, her eyes glued to her phone, while Mom was raiding the fridge.

"I'm home," I announced, a small grin plastered across my face.

"Ry! You're finally here. I've been waiting forever," Nora gleamed, placing her phone face-down on the table as she stood up from her chair, the legs of it screeching as it slid against the tiled floor.

"Yeah, I let her in when she was at the door. Where were you?" Mom questioned, curiosity lightning in her eyes. "When you came home from school three hours ago, you dropped your things off and left all of a sudden."

"I was at the lake. You know, the one I used to hang out at," I replied without a doubt.

"Oh, alright. Anyway, I'm going to go to work for a few hours. I'll be back by seven, Rylie," she reversed the topic, reaching for a beige manila folder that was placed on the countertop. "Feel free to treat yourselves to anything you'd like in the refrigerator. If not, you can order something."

"Okay, see you later, Mom," I nodded my head, sauntering towards the fridge.

The heels of her shoes clicked against the floor, the sounds growing softer until she bolted out. I opened the refrigerator, hoping to find something to eat.

"Do you want anything to eat, Nora?" I offered, glimpsing at her.

"Yeah. I am kind of hungry. What's in the fridge?" She questioned, pushing her chair under the table to approach me.

"A little bit of leftover spaghetti from two days ago, fruits, veggies, orange juice, and salad dressing," I grimaced at the scarcity in front of me.

"Well we can order some food, like a pizza or something," Nora suggested, reaching for her phone on the table, the fake gems in her phone case shimmering like stars in the night sky.

"Good idea. I have some money around here somewhere. I just have to find it in my room," I rushed towards the foyer, climbing onto the stairs with caution.

Nora trailed behind me. I climbed up each step with caution, as if I were climbing a mountain. Once I reached the top, I circled around them to my bedroom, the door open slightly. I opened my first drawer, looking into it. My wallet was in there somewhere. Cookie snuggled against my feet with a purr. I chuckled, reaching for my wallet, which was somehow under a folded, oversized T-shirt I haven't worn since sophomore year. I raised an eyebrow, baffled on how it got there.

I unzipped the zipper to reveal what was inside. There were a couple of one-dollar bills, four to be exact. Based on what I had, there isn't enough to purchase a pizza.

"I don't have enough money," I grimaced, turning to Nora.

"Luckily, I have some money," she gleamed, gesturing to her credit card from her wallet. "We can put it on my card."

"But don't you need to save up for Kylie's eyeshadow palette?" I questioned, pushing my drawer closed with my hands.

"It'll only be a couple of dollars. Don't worry," she tutted, pulling her phone from her back pocket. "Veggie pizza does sound good, right?"

"Yeah, it does," I answered, slouching down at the rim of my bed. "I'll make sure to pay you back for all this."

"Nah, no need," Nora insisted, dialing a number on her phone.

Once the number was picked up, an employee from the pizza chain greeted her, questioning what we wanted to order. My friend recited our order, adding in an orange Fanta. My stomach growled just thinking about savoring pizza and washing it down with Fanta. It wasn't exactly healthy, but after a long, tiring day, I deserve it.

"Pizza's here!" Nora announced from the doorframe of my room, a pizza box with a liter of Fanta on top of it in hand. 

The mouthwatering aroma of the pizza flew out of the holes at the side of the box, invading the room at an instant. I inhaled, ready to ingest a slice. My friend set the box at the center of my bed, and the Fanta on my nightstand, along with a few plastic cups, paper plates, and napkins. I opened the box, revealing the enchanting sight of numerous vegetables, such as tomatoes, onions, and peppers smudged next to each other. I grabbed a paper plate from my nightstand and ripped off a slice, reaching it towards my mouth. The peppery taste melted in my mouth as I consumed my first bite.

"I'm dreading school tomorrow," Nora groaned, pouring herself Fanta into a cup, the surface bubbling. "I have to return that design book I borrowed two weeks ago."

"That sucks. The other day, I went to the school library to borrow a book, but I ended up borrowing the maximum amount," I murmured, disappointment in my eyes.

"Wow, that's sad," she grimaced before taking a bite from her slice.

Reading is a distraction to me—a good one. It diverts me from what's happening around me, which is something I've desperately needed since what happened a few years ago. When I was at the school library the other day, I discovered a couple of books I've never heard of that seemed interesting. Too bad I couldn't check them out.

The noise of Nora pulling something out of her mocha brown miniature backpack disrupted my thoughts, the slams of a couple of her perfume containers smashing together. She pulled out her full-size rose gold iPad, the fake silver gems she plastered on the sides glimmering. She powered it on with her thumb, clicking the Instagram icon that led to her newest post, which was a cute outfit inspiration—ripped jeans, black and white Converse shoes, a porcelain striped crop top with cuts at the edges, and a couple of handmade accessories laid on a fluffy, white surface. 

"My latest Instagram post got two-hundred likes," she squealed like a person who seen a newborn baby, zooming in to maximize her post. 

"Wow, that is so cool. You only posted that a few hours ago, too," I examined the comments of the post, my eyes skimming through each. 

You always have the best outfits, AdrienneGriffin17 commented. This looks so aesthetic. I love it, TotallyNotAyden complimented. The rest of the visible comments went on and on with well-deserved comments. Nora always dreamt of becoming a fashion designer when she becomes older. It makes sense, considering that she turns old, plain clothes into something new. While me, on the other hand, still can't decide on what to become. 

Any jobs that involve the human brain sounds interesting, so maybe I could be something related to psychology. I don't know what in particular though, but I'll figure it out one day. Before I graduate, at least. 

//

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If you had to be stranded on an island with any character mentioned in this story so far, who would want to spend it with most and why?